All Things New....

Today in church I realized that even though I was saved and baptised that I really didn't feel like I was living the way Jesus wanted me to. So with great pride I walked up and got saved again! I am getting baptised again in a couple of weeks. I decided I wanted to tell the whole church the reason I have grown apart from Jesus. It is because when Mary was diagnosed with Leukemia in November I was angry at God for putting her through this and I rebelled from His word and started thinking negative about my life. Now I understand that He IS going to make her better at his own pace, and I also wanted to put to rest my anger towards God about my Mom losing 5 children by misscarriage and came to understand that the baby girl we save from China was in God's plan all these years, and once we see her face we will know instantly that God Is Good All the Time!!!!!
Steven Curtis Chapman has a CD out called All Things New and realized that for me all things are new: New for my faith, new for my family with the addition of Chloe, and for Mary for getting her better and making her good as new!! I ended up downloading that song.

Baby Mulan!

Today I had to make my China adoption speech again for my Dad's company. After my Mom and I left there we went to Target to check out their deals. While I was browsing through the toy section I saw this beautiful Asian baby doll. As most of you probably know it is hard to find Asian baby dolls, so I jump at the chance when I see one! OMG it was a Baby Mulan doll and the last one on the shelf. She was absolutely adorable!!!! I just HAD to buy her for Chloe. I surprised my mom with it when we met back at the car and she was so excited!!!!
Below are some pictures I took so you could see what she looks like. YAY! Chloe now has THREE Chinese baby dolls!!


For better pictures and more information on Baby Mulan check out this link:
http://www.playmatestoys.com/html/disney/index.html

A Touching Video....

A pal of mine from one of my Yahoo groups sent me this link to a heart warming video of orphans in China. It is a very short video but I cried like a baby throughout the WHOLE thing. Now I really feel blessed that we are able to save one orphan! I just wish we could go NOW and rescue Chloe!! Click on the link below to go to the site that contains 3 different versions of the video. PLEASE WATCH IT AND PASS IT ON!!!!!!!!

Bring Me Hope Video



**Warning: Be sure to bring out the tissues if you watch this movie** PLEASE LEAVE ME A COMMENT IF YOU WATCH IT..I REALLY WANT TO SEE HOW EVERYBODY REACTS TO IT!!

A picture that went to China with our dossier

This picture is one of eight pictures that we sent with our dossier. It is a requirement by the CCAA to send 6-8 pictures of your family, house, etc. This picture is my favorite out of the eight that I chose. The CCAA requires this because they want to know what life will be like for the orphan they match with that family, the pictures only go to the Review Room not the Matching Room. I think it is a pretty cool way of showing who we are and what we look like!! **Click on CCAA to get linked to the site that provides great information about how each child is matched with a family**

Lindsey, Pam and Chuck at Capri (a italian restaurant) for Lindsey's 17th B-Day

Oh Happy Day...

It sure has been a happy day at my house! After I got the wonderful news about us being DTC I called everybody I knew and my friend Candace and I went to Wal-Mart and bought my mom some red roses that I put in a vase with a note saying Happy DTC!!!
Then I went to my Nana's house for supper and after we ate my whole family celebrated by watching China's Lost Girls. Wonderful BTW!! I had already watched it 2 times but I wanted my whole family to see it so they can understand more about the population control in China. It was a great day for the whole family!!

Finally DTC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today our agency called and gave us the news we have been waiting for.....

"Congratulations your dossier has been sent to China today July 25, 2005!!!!!!!!"

OMG OMG what a GREAT day! DTC for Chloe Madison Jones!!

My first letter to Chloe!!!!!!

NiHao Chloe,
I can't sleep..too much drama in life! Just wanted to let you know that you have impacted my life ever since we started talking about adoption. You will have the best family ever, me and you will be best buds! We will dress alike, I will take you to my High School so you can see all the big people, but don't worry not all of them bite:). and i will take you shopping. I know it will be hard for the first couple of days but soon you will be apart of our forever family! I love you sooooo much and can't wait to see your beautiful face and be able to touch you! You are and will be the MOST IMPORTANT THING IN MY LIFE! Thanks for the love that you have given me... I have felt it for the longest time. Once I meet you I know that you will fill a void in my life. I love you to infinity!!!!!!!! Until we meet Jesus is with you so you don't have to be scared!!!!!
Love your Sister,
Lindsey
P.S- I have decided to write you a letter every month until we bring you home! XXOO

Chloe officially has a room!

YAY! Yesterday our painter came and started painting the room that will be Chloe's. I was so excited! Yea I know..pathetic, but I can't help it. I just can't stop going into that room..and there is basically nothing in it besides a fan, 2 pieces of furniture and paint cans!! Since we started the adoption process we knew which room was going to be Chloe's, it just seems so real now that it actually looks like a nursery with beautiful PINK paint on the walls and not just a dull room with white walls. Her room is right across the hall from mine with a bathroom between us. I have decided to do that bathroom in a Chinese theme, since we will be sharing it.
I will post pictures of the nursery when he finishes painting it! Can't wait for all of you to see it!!

Saving up for China!

I have been saving every penny I can on our trip to China. I want to be able to go over there and buy stuff for Chloe with MY money! I have a little bank that said Vacation Fund and had airplanes and luggage hanging from it. All I had to do was mark out Vacation and put China! Now the only problem is keeping the money IN the bank and not spending it! When school starts I figure if I don't buy much food and put the remander $$ in the bank then it would be both benefitting the trip to China AND my eating habits!!

My critique of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Today my Mom and I went to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory! It was a great movie perfect for the whole family. Johnny Depp does an amazing portrayal of Willy Wonka. This movie puts a different spin on the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. It adds humor to a classic movie. I give it 4 stars! After I got home it made me want to watch the original one...LOL! I will definitely be going to see it again and anticipating the DVD release of it. Take my advice: If you are having a bad day or need some laughter in your life GO SEE Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, I guarantee you will love it! **If you do see it PLEASE leave me a comment of your critique of the movie**.

Why????

Look at this picture of an orphanage in China. Do you see what the poor babies are sleeping on...look closely.....yup, they are sleeping on a wood board as a mattress. OMG..the poor babies, and the sad truth is that only 2% of orphans in China actually get adopted. Just 2%!!! If anybody out there is thinking about international adoption, PLEASE visit our wonderful agency's website www.cwa.org for more information on saving babies that should be cuddled to sleep on a nice warm crib instead of WOOD!!


Consider China Adoption....you could save a precious life....

Chloe's 100 Good Wishes Quilt

Most of you that have adopted from China have heard about the 100 good wishes quilt. If you want to learn about it just click on the title. Thanks to my best friend Mary, we are going to try to make a smaller one for Chloe. In order to do so I need people to send me a 5X5 piece of cloth for the quilt (ex: ladybug print, baby print) with a good wish for Chloe. If you are interested in sending me a square PLEASE e-mail me at Lindz87@msn.com or leave me a comment so I can give you my home address. PLEASE support the Chinese tradition of a Bai Jia Bei or 100 good wishes quilt, I REALLY want to make one for Chloe so she can look back when she get's older and see how many people cared about her!

What a Day!!

OMG..Today my Mom and I got the mail and found a letter from Poetry.com, where I sent my poem The Lord Is With Her. The letter said that I have been chosen out of thousands to have my poem published!! I also made the semi-finalists where I qualify for $1,ooo cash prize and other prizes during this month. I was so excited, I have never had anything published before! I guess Chloe inspires me!! If you would like to read my poem I put it on my blog so just look for the title The Lord Is With Her. If you read it PLEASE leave me a comment so I know who all read it!!!
My Mom and I went to Spartanburg today. We shopped till we dropped! We bought things to re-due what will be mine and Chloe's bathroom. I have decided to do it in a Asian theme and will post pictures of it later. We are currently working on redecorating the bathroom and turning the extra room into Chloe's nursery. It's super crazy at the Jones House! We have decided not to paint the nursery ourselves, we have hired a painter, which is a load off!! He is coming Monday..I'm so excited!!I can't wait to post pictures of the nursery as it comes along, I think it is gonna look great!!
I have also taken up sewing, so I am making a quilt-blanket for Chloe and other things. I want Chloe to know how special she was to me before I met her!! WHAT A grrreeaaat Day!!!

A Matching Room...

Below is a picture of what a matching room looks like. In that room thousands of dossiers are placed until someone matches the families with a child that will change their lives forever....

Chloe's Cross

I bought this cross with Chloe's name on it last week. It finally came in today!! It is adorable under her name it has "now I lay me down to sleep..." on it. It is going to go on her nursery door. If you want to order your child a personalized cross or other great personalized items just click on the title "Chloe's Cross".
**We are finally going to paint the nursery Thursday, I am so excited and can't wait to post pictures of it on here!!**

My cousin Mason

This is my precious cousin Mason. He is eight months old and an energetic baby. I just think he is so cute...i have a feeling he is gonna be a heartbreaker when he gets older! Chloe will be so lucky to have a cousin like him to grow up with!

I Just love that boy!!!

Prayers needed for my great Aunt!!

In a nut-shell: My great aunt Georgie (that lives in Wisconsin) had her toe amputated a couple of months ago because she had melanoma in it. After she had that done she started learning to walk again and recovered so well that she was back at work soon after her surgery. A couple of days ago she noticed some spots and knew something was wrong. So her husband Charles met her at the hospital so she could see her Oncologist. Her Dr. said it was in fact melanoma that was the floating kind and decided that she needed to have a bone scan asap. The bone scan is scheduled for July 15 . Once she has that done she will know more about if the melanoma has spread, her prognosis, possible treatment, etc.
Charles and Georgie will be coming to North Carolina in the next month so Georgie can be with her family that love and care for her. Please pray for her and Charles, pray that God is with her through whatever trials lye ahead.

My wrist and getting ready for Chloe

I got my cast taken off Wednesday and my stitches taken out. My Dr. replaced it with a small brace thing with velcro so I can take it off. He said I have to wear it basically all the time for three weeks because since the surgery was on my wrist he doesn't want me moving it...but the brace is WAY better than that heavy cast. So I am feeling a lot better and can drive again..YES!

Also since we are almost DTC my family and friends are so excited and the Jones house is getting ready to have a baby around. We are going to start Chloe's nursery this month. My friend Candace has a adorable 9 month old baby Holly. They spent the night with me last night and Holly is already playing with Chloe's toys...LOL..and I am getting used to helping tend to a baby. Me and Candace sewed little pillows for Chloe and Holly and they turned out great!

G-O-O-D ~ N-E-W-S!!!

YES! Our dossier was finally sent to our agency today!! We are waiting to hear from them and hopefully will be DTC soon!! I thought I would never say the words Dossier to China, but finally instead of just a dream, our chance for a baby girl is slowly becoming a reality, we are one step closer to finally holding little Chloe Madison Jones in our arms......YAY!!

Highlights from 4th of July

Some pictures of the Jones-Allen family during our 4th of July celebration!!!

My family and of course our dogs..Chloe is going to be one lucky girl because this is the best family ever!!

Me with my Aunt Debbie's Beagle "Sugar"

Me acting crazy as usual with Kool Whip on my lips..lol..hehe..

Happy Independance Day!!

I wanted to wish everybody out there a happy 4th of July! Hope you all have a great day with your family and friends and for thoughs of you out there have something special to add to this year..a baby girl from China or another country perhaps. Next year my family will have Chloe to bring another special meaning to this day, because we will know that we made a forever impact on her life, bringing her from a country with no freedom to a country with the proud feeling to say she is PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!

What a beautiful picture..sends chills down my spine!

My hand

This is my poor hand that I had to have surgery on Tuesday. It is totally driving me crazy. I am sick of not being able to use my right hand, HARD TO DO! I can't wait to get this thing off and my stitches taken out. And I thought surgery was the hard part...WRONG!!!!